TL;DR

• Workforce shortages are creating experience gaps that automation alone cannot solve.
• Modern industrial simulation helps operators gain confidence and competency faster through realistic, hands-on learning.
• Simulation is no longer limited to operator training and now supports engineering, testing, and operational improvement throughout the facility lifecycle.
• Digital twin environments allow teams to test changes safely before deploying them to live production systems.
• Solutions such as DeltaV™ Mimic make simulation more accessible, scalable, and practical than ever before.

Why this matters now

There are many new industrial manufacturing challenges associated with the increasing skilled workforce shortages across the globe. Automation can close the gap on many of these issues, but it is not a silver bullet. In a recent article in Control Engineering, Emerson’s Dawn Marruchella identifies another challenge that arises from the convergence of automation and workforce shortages. New users often don’t have the experience necessary to manage the systems designed to support them.

“[N]ew hires [are] being asked to operate and modify complex systems with far less hands-on experience than their predecessors. Therefore, upskilling techniques must be fast, but more importantly, they must also be effective.”

This challenge highlights the need for training methods that accelerate competency without sacrificing effectiveness.

Fortunately, Marruchella explains, there is a solution, and it’s one that has been around for many years. Modern industrial simulation software can bridge the gap, helping less experienced workers gain the confidence they need, while also continuing to upskill them as they perform their tasks across the facility.

Takeaway: As workforce experience levels decline, organizations need tools that help operators build practical expertise faster and more consistently.

Not Just a Training Tool

Simulation is still heavily used for operator training as part of an operator training simulator (OTS). Leveraging the technology in that way has brought value for many decades, but today, organizations are looking to deliver more from their investments. To accomplish this, they are expanding use of digital twin simulation into engineering and operations improvement across the lifecycle of the facility.

Both control engineers and process engineers now leverage simulation software to test changes before applying them to live systems. This strategy allows teams to continually innovate, considering operational and equipment changes that might deliver operational excellence without risk that testing will shut down production or create safety hazards.

“Increased automation from complex control loops, advanced process control, and state-based control have amplified the effects of even the smallest changes to operations. A minor adjustment can easily propagate through the control system, units, and entire processes, potentially creating trips or even safety incidents.

Simulation gives teams ways to see the cause-and-effect relationships between their actions and facility operations well before they impact the process. Users gain confidence before execution, instead of learning from recovery after a failure.”

Simulation enables teams to understand operational consequences before implementing changes in a live environment, reducing risk while increasing confidence in decision-making.

Takeaway: Digital twin simulation helps teams test and validate changes safely before they impact production, reliability, or safety.

This ability to test changes is particularly valuable when it comes to abnormal operations such as startup and shutdown. These transient operations occur infrequently, meaning operators, typically used to steady-state operations, are often less prepared to manage them.

With a digital twin simulation, operators can practice abnormal operations as many times as necessary to prepare for real-world operation. Tools like DeltaV™ Mimic dynamic process simulation software offer countless engineering tools to fine-tune models for different training scenarios and provide operators with interfaces identical to those they will use during operation, ensuring simulation-based learning translates directly to real-world performance.

“Simulation allows teams to practice, repeat, and refine these less common scenarios regularly and safely. Engineers can first validate procedures in simulation to ensure the models match the current state of the facility. Operators can then undergo training on updated steps rather than outdated assumptions.”

By validating procedures and training against current operating conditions, simulation helps ensure both engineering and operations teams remain aligned.

Takeaway: Regular simulation-based practice improves operator readiness for critical but infrequent events such as startups, shutdowns, and process upsets.

Modern Simulation Helps Teams Deliver Impressive Results

Modern simulation tools like DeltaV Mimic simulation software are affordable, easy to use and maintain, highly scalable, and comprehensive. For teams that may have dismissed simulation in the past as too expensive or too complex for their environment, today’s options offer a compelling reason to give a digital twin another look. It is easier than ever to start small, score some critical wins, and expand the software over time into a comprehensive solution that will help make every operator the plant’s best operator.

As manufacturers work to overcome workforce shortages and accelerate employee development, industrial simulation is evolving into a strategic capability that delivers value far beyond training. By helping organizations safely test operational changes, improve engineering decisions, validate procedures, and strengthen operator performance, digital twin technologies can help facilities improve both productivity and resilience while reducing operational risk.